Gervase Pruett, 23, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Antonio Monteza on Sept. 12, 2017, in Rogers Park. The two lived less than a half-mile from one another, according to public records.

Gervase Pruett, 23, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Antonio Monteza on Sept. 12, 2017, in Rogers Park. The two lived less than a half-mile from one another, according to public records.

An exchange of words and gang signs outside a Far North Side gas station led to the killing of a 17-year-old boy earlier this month, according to prosecutors.

Gervase Pruett, 23, stood before Judge Sophia Atcherson on Sunday facing a charge of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Antonio Monteza on Sept. 12. Pruett and Monteza lived less than a half-mile from one another, according to public records.

Around 2:35 a.m. Sept. 12, Monteza and Pruett were in separate groups, both leaving a Mobil gas station, 7550 N. Sheridan Road, in the Rogers Park neighborhood, according to Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Brogan. One person in Monteza’s party got into a dispute with Pruett, who flashed gang signs and drew a firearm, Brogan said.

Pruett fired shots, leaving Monteza’s group scrambling for cover in several directions. Pruett pursued Monteza west on Howard Street and fired more shots at him, Brogan said.

A “trail of blood” led police to Monteza, who was hit multiple times in the abdomen and collapsed at Howard and Greenview Avenue, Brogan said. Monteza was rushed to Presence St. Francis Hospital in Evanston but died of his injuries.

Video surveillance captured the shooting, Brogan said. On Thursday, a witness identified Pruett as the shooter, she said.

Pruett fled to north suburban Waukegan before eventually returning to his home in the 7600 block of North Bosworth Avenue, where he was arrested by police.